Canada now allows prescription heroin in severe opioid addiction

Canada now allows prescription heroin in severe opioid addiction
CBC
September 8th, 2016

Health Canada has amended regulations allowing doctors to prescribe heroin to people who are severely addicted to opioids.

The government says the country is facing an opioid overdose crisis and healthcare providers need help in treating patients suffering from chronic dependency.

The change to the former Conservative government's legislation means pharmaceutical-grade heroin can be prescribed under a special-access program in cases where traditional treatment has failed.

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Read the full story here.

Glad Canada is finally doing it. From what I understand, Britain has been doing that very thing for years now. I doubt the U.S. will ever do it, though, because our drug laws are positively draconian.

God bless the liberal govt in Canada. Always very empathetic

Amen! its about time

Man oh man are certain conservatives in my neighborhood ticked off after reading this story.

I understand that it may seem counterproductive to probably the majority of the Canadian population, but the acute and long-term benefits have empirically been shown to far outweigh the risks. That is, as long as you value the lives of the addicts receiving Heroin Maintenance Treatment. If you don't, then I'd hope that one day you'll change your mind.

Also, I'd like to commend the Liberal government for amending the constitution in order to allow for this treatment. I have absolutely no doubt that, if Harper would have won the election, he'd never even consider such a progressive change in policy. In fact, given the recent spike in fatal overdoses, chances are he'd implement ever more draconian laws in the books. Not that I personally hate the guy, but good-fucking-riddance to him, and also Rona Ambrose as the previous Health Minister (she had no business being Health Minister - zero-point-zero formal education in any medical field under her belt).

Isn't the new (Liberal) Health Minister (at the federal level) a licensed physician? Now THAT's more like it.

Hopefully as the benefits of this policy become too clear to ignore lawmakers next door in the US will be forced to see the wisdom of it.

To be clear, there was never any law explicitly prohibiting the prescription of heroin until the Conservative government instituted such a law in 2013. The new government has simply done away with that law.

S.J.B. said:

To be clear, there was never any law explicitly prohibiting the prescription of heroin until the Conservative government instituted such a law in 2013. The new government has simply done away with that law.

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Really? Was it instituted at the same time that certain substances such as Rx amphetamine was moved from Schedule III to I? That must have been in 2013, no?

S.J.B. said:

To be clear, there was never any law explicitly prohibiting the prescription of heroin until the Conservative government instituted such a law in 2013. The new government has simply done away with that law.

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Very interesting. Was it common before 2013?

Felonious Monk said:

Very interesting. Was it common before 2013?

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Not at all. As far as I am aware, it has only been prescribed in the context of two studies (Google: NAOMI and SALOME) that were run in the past decade or so. Perhaps given the positive results of those studies, and the current political climate, heroin maintenance will slowly begin to become more mainstream here.

ro4eva said:

Was it instituted at the same time that certain substances such as Rx amphetamine was moved from Schedule III to I?

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I think they were around the same time but they were separate bills.